Army, Navy to revisit WWI baseball rivalry

Steve Rogers Daily News staff writer

Monday

Sep 25, 2017 at 12:01 AMSep 25, 2017 at 7:54 PM

NEWPORT — The Newport Gulls completed their New England Collegiate Baseball League season in late July. The Sunset League, the oldest amateur baseball league in the country, completed its playoffs at Cardines Field last month.

But the field will be in use again Friday, when it is rededicated. Immediately following the rededication ceremony, students from the Naval War College will play a commemorative Army-Navy baseball game from the 1917 time frame.

“We’re not re-enacting the game. We just want to make it as accurate as possible,” said David Kohnen, director of the Naval War College Museum and the John B. Hattendorf Center for Maritime Historical Research.

“Players will wear wool uniforms and the game will be played using 1917 rules,” he said. “We will let them use the mitts they have for safety reasons. Some of the gloves that could be used have rotten leather. And we will have them use wooden bats.”

The rededication and game come 99 years after the end of World War I.

“In 2015 we started looking at how we could capitalize on the 100-year centenary of the First World War,” Kohnen said. “The Naval War College looms large in the history of World War I. Admiral William S. Sims had a great appreciation for the game of baseball. Connecting Sims, the Naval War College and baseball gave us the opportunity to highlight the history.”

Cardines Field (formerly Basin Field) originally was dedicated on Sept. 20, 1936, to the memory of Army Private Bernardo Cardines, who was killed in action on Sept. 22, 1917, while participating in a raid on German-held positions near Thiaucourt, France. Prior to being drafted, Cardines lived in Newport with his uncle and worked as a tailor. Cardines was Newport’s first citizen to die in the war.

Admiral Sims had a passion for baseball. As commander of U.S. Naval Forces in Europe during World War I, he issued orders for Navy warships to establish baseball teams to play Army teams on the western front to rally Anglo-American collaboration in Europe.

However, the Army teams were able to practice while the Navy teams couldn’t because they were on their ships. Army teams won the majority of the games. So Admiral Sims took matters into his own hands to make the Navy squads more competitive.

“He ordered the second Naval District baseball team, comprised of volunteers who before were largely Major League Baseball players with the New York Yankees and Boston (Braves), out of Newport,” Kohnen said. “He gave the players the rank of yeoman. Sims stacked the deck. That group’s primary job was to play baseball.”

There was no word if Nathaniel Sims, the admiral’s grandson who is a physician and faculty member at Harvard University, would try to stack the deck in Navy’s favor this Friday. But he did submit some memorabilia for the occasion.

“We created some exhibits for display at the ballpark,” Kohnen said. “The scorecard from the 1918 London game between Army and Navy where King George V threw out the first pitch will be on display.

“And Nathaniel Sims has donated a tremendous collection of materials that’s never been seen before by anyone other than the family.”

Students from the Naval War College jumped at the chance to participate in Friday’s game. Kohnen said all the players are in their mid-30s and most have decent baseball experience.

“We had more volunteers than uniforms available,” Kohnen said. “The first two hours, all the spots were gone. Some of the guys played for the Naval Academy and some played for Army. I think we should see a good baseball game.”

There is no charge for admission and the gates open at 4:30 p.m. Those who attend will get the opportunity to view the various historic displays in the park, witness the re-dedication and then take in the six-inning game.

“We’re all looking forward to the event,” Kohnen said. “We hope we’ll be able to keep doing it in the future. It’s a great opportunity to get the war college students out to meet the people of Newport.”

Sports@NewportRI.com

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